This is our engagement story...

On bended knee atop Machu Picchu

Four years ago to the day on a terrace overlooking Machu Picchu Louise turned from the view above to find me on one knee holding out an engagement ring. After a scream, some tears a kiss and shouts of congratulations from nearby Machu Picchu hikers Louise said yes.

It was an awesome moment in our lives together and one that we will always remember. However, it had taken some planning and there had been some difficulties getting there.

I was due to be a medic in Peru for a Ultra Marathon. I had known for some time that I was going to ask Louise to marry me and this seemed to be to good an opportunity to pass up for that perfect proposal setting. I convinced Louise to join me for a little adventure before my medical duties were due to start. We planned a trek that would end at Machu Picchu at sunrise... Perfect.

I got to work designing Louise's engagement ring and found a jewellers that could make it. I could not have been happier with the finished ring. It was perfect and I was sure Louise would love it... However, the next challenge was transporting it in a rucksack to the other side of the planet and then over rough terrain and altitudes of 4600 meters without Louise finding it or more importantly without losing it. As it happens this was quite easy. What I hadn't accounted for was how badly the altitude sickness would firstly effect Louise and then me. Between severe headaches, breathlessness, vomiting and night time hallucinations it didn't seem that this proposal was going to be as perfect as I had envisaged.

Luckily Machu Picchu was at a lower altitude than the trails we had been hiking and so the altitude sickness quickly wore off and thanks to a carefully planned swap of the tents for a stay in a hotel the night before the final push to Machu Picchu we arrived refreshed and were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the truly awesome landscapes and architecture of Machu Picchu.